Selective actuating device for indexing and other operations



June 28, 1960 M. FRANco1 SELECTIVE ACTUATING DEVICE FOR INDEXING AND OTHER OPERATIONS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 6, 1959 June 28, 1960 Filed July 6, 1959 I M. FRANCOIS SELECTIVE ACTUATING DEVICE FOR INDEXING AND OTHER OPERATIONS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J 2 M. FRANCOIS SELECTIVE ACTUATING DEVICE FOR INDEXING AND OTHER OPERATIONS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 6, 1959 0 m u M: Q 0 V! V H\I .L 3 8 m 3 w w c X. 1.1.1 Q X H 6 o g .6

SELECTIVE ACTUATING DEVICE FOR INDEXING AND OTHER OPERATIONS Marcel Francois, Chatenay-Malabry, France, assignor to Hotchkiss-Brandt, Paris, France, a French body corpo- "rate Filed July 6, 1959, Ser. No. 825,235

Claims priority, application France Oct. 3, 1958 Claims. (Cl. 74-1) The object of the present invention is to provide a selective actuating device for indexing and other operations, this device permitting, notably in its indexing function, .mechanically recording any value of a code preestablished on a movable memory device which passes in front of the actuating device.

The actuating device is so improved as to permit the desired actuation in a continuous mechanical manner Without jarring or alternating movements, the memory device or other device to be actuated remaining mobile during the actuation. V a

The actuating device of the invention comprises in combination: a fixed stand, a rotary turret mounted on the stand and a plurality of groups of actuating rods carried by the turret, the rods of a given group being disposed in a given radial plane and being perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the turret and each rod being movable between an operative position and an inoperative position, and, disposed on the stand and arranged about the turret in such manner as to be passed by by each group of rods: an actuating station in front of which a device to be controlled passes so as to be actuated by therods in'said operative position, a neutralizing station for returning the rods to said inoperative position, and a station for selectively bringing the rods to a deployed or extracted operative position.

Preferably, three groups of rods angularly spaced 120 apart from one another are provided and the three stations are angularly spaced apart at the same angle so that when the rod or rods of one of the groups in their operative position fulfill their function, the rod or rods which were previously operative are brought to their inoperative'position, and one or more rods of the third group are brought selectively into their operative position.

If desired, the device of the invention could comprise in line With the actuating station a rotary swivel carrying push rods each of which effects an auxiliary operation conjugate with that of the operative rod or rods of one of the groups carried by the turret.

Owing to the continuous rotation of the turret, and, if desired, that of the swivel, the operations effected by the rods could be of a certain duration, despite the possible rapidity of movement of the device to actuate, on the sole condition that the path described by each element to actuate has a sufiicient secant value of the circular path described by the actuating rod, this rod being in operative position if it concerns one of the rods of the turret.

1 Further features and advantages of the invention will be-apparent from the ensuing description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, to which the invention is in no way restricted.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view taken along a diametral plane II (Fig. 2) intersecting the axis of the turretand the actuating station where a device to actuate,

chosen by way of-example, is shown in side elevation andpartly in section;

ice

Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in horizontal section taken along line III-I, of Fig. l, and

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the device of the invention on the actuating station side thereof.

. Let it be supposed that the device of the invention is adapted to record or impress a value of a pre-determined code in an index unit A carried by a carriage B to which a continuous movement of translation is imparted at constant speed in the direction of arrow f in the straight path XX (Figs. 2 and 3). This carriage is for example part of a sorting out machine and comprises a number of cups or compartments each of which is closed at its base by a retractable flap and is adapted to receive a letter or other document which it must release at a given fixed point in said machine, this point varying in accordance with the value of the code recorded'in the unit A. 5

This unit comprises, for example, groups of'rods ordinarily biased outwardly to the position of rest a by' springs: the indexing operation consists in pushing in a number of these rods to the inner position a All the rods of the same groupcooperate, on the one hand, through the medium of abutment flanges b with a first locking strip 0 having apertures d and, on the other hand, with a second strip e adapted to actuate the closing flap. of one of the cups of the carriage B.

The arrangement is such that depression. of a certain number of rods from the position a to the position a? must be preceded by an upward movement of the strips c'and-e.

The actuating device of the invention is adapted to, firstly, raise the strips c and e,'-and, then, "while these strips are still raised, start a selective depression of a" certain number of rods a (which number couldbe be: tween 0 and'the total 'number of rods per group, namely nine in the presently-described embodiment), release the strips 0 and d, and, finally, release the actuated rods which the already released strip 0 blocks .in positiona until further signals are received. e 2

According to the illustrated embodiment, this actuating device comprises a hollow support generally designated by the reference numeral 1.

In this support, whose lower part constitutes a housing or case 2 (Fig. 1), are rotatably mounted a horizon'tal driving shaft 3, a driven shaft 4 having a vertical axis Y-Y, and a horizontal driven shaft 5 having an axis ZZ which is orthogonal to the axes "XX and YY. The driving shaft 3 extends out of the housing 2 at at least one end where there is provided a coupling 6' of any type (Fig. 3) for connecting this shaft to a drive.

:The shaft 3 is connected to the driven shafts 4 and 5 by gear trains 7, 8 and 7, 9 (Fig. 1) respectively, so that the shaft 4 rotates in the direction of arrow f at a speed which" is, for'example, half that of the shaft 5, which latter rotates in the direction of arrow f 7 Above the table 9 of the support, the shaft 4 carries a rotary turret comprising a prismatic block 10' (Figs. '1 and 2) which has an equilateral triangular section and is keyed at 11 on the shaft 4. Secured to the three sides of this block are three vertical rod carriers 12. Each of these carriers comprise as many horizontal cylindrical blind holes 13 as there are elements to actuate, namely nine rods a of the unit A in the presently-described embodiment. Slidably mounted in each hole is a rod 14 one end of which carries a roller 15 or other bearing means for bearing against the rods a to actuate.

The device therefore comprises three groups C C C of rods 14 whose horizontal axeswhich are'perpen'dicular to the axis YYare located in three verti cal planes angularly spaced apart from one another sition of rest shown at 14a and an outer operative posi- 2,942,477 Patented June 28, 1960.

- If r 2,942,477

tion"14b.i A spring I G-bias'es' the rod 14in the direction from- -theposition 14a-tothe position 14b spring...

The.rod*carrying:turret, in the course of its rotation inthe direction of arrow f passes successively through threestations angularl'y spaced "120 "apart from each other; namely:

(a) An actuationstation' I (Fig.2) where certain rods of the successive groups fulfill their function in turn.

(b) A neutralizing station 11 :which neutralizes the rods which have just operated atstation I, that is,v returns these rods to-their depressed inner position 1411.

An extracting station III which selectively extractscertain'rods to the position 14b 1 in accordance with the function that these rodsmust fulfill in the course of the passage of I the corresponding group through the stationI.

The station'I has-no particular feature and is simply defined by the action of the selected rod or rods in the groups of rods' which pass'successively through this; station, on the rod or rods 14 of the carriage B given as an example of a device to Jbeactuated.

The-neutralizing stationiII comprises a boss 21 on. a

fixed: cam 22 carried by the support 1 and alongiwhich.

is adapted to roll, in respect of each group of rods, a roller 23 carried by an arm 24 which is rigid with a fork 25 mounted for pivotal movement on the pivot pin .18. A spring 26 biases the/roller 23 against the cam 22 whose profile is suchthat it causes, at stationILthe fork 25 to-tilt allthe pawls 17 of thecorrespondinggroup of rods in thedirection to disengage them from the apertures 20 sotthat atzstation III the rods 14 are in a released condition.

T hezstationifurther comprises a series of fixed superimposed plates 27, the edge.28of. each constituting a neutralizing cam'.:(Figs.. 2. and: 3) directed toward the rod-carrying turret; All the edges 28 constituting the cams are superimposed and their. contour. in plan. hi1 (Fig.2 2) is. such that, as the roller '15 ofthe rod 14 rolls along thecarn 28 fromJz toward 1', the rod, if it encounters the cam' at position 14b, is. returned to the position j,.thatis, its depressed-inner position 14a. Consequently,

when the rods 14leave.the station II and arrive at the stationIII they are all in. their inner depressed position 1411.

Also forming part of thestation II, is a lever 29 whose edge 30 constitutes a ramp and is mounted for pivotal movementabout a pin 31 and adapted to co-operate with a single roller 32 prov-idedunder each group of rods so as to cause the lever 29 to pivot in the direction of arrow f when said group of rods passes through the station II; The function ofthis lever will be explained hereinafter-twith reference to the station III which selectively returns the rods to their outer position 14b.

The station III comprises a series of superimposed plates 33 the number of which equals the number of rods 14 in-each group of rods. These plates are suitably spaced'apart and are pivotable about the vertical pin 31..

each plate SS presents a cam edge 37 directed toward tli'e turret. This" edge-371s part-circular and, when the plate is in its operative position, the edge is at position 37a..where-it. isiconcentric withtthe axis..Y.Y,. its. radius being equal to the radius Y-j of the end of the ramps 28 of the neutralizing plates 27. Each plate 33 comprises a recess 38 which, when the cam 37 is at position 3711, is located at 38a in' line with the core plunger 3! of a locking electromagnet 40 which when unexcited is in its operative position. 37 of a plate 33f'r'omthe-operativeposition 37a to the retraction -position 37' is: obtained by the simple excita-. tion: of the electro'magnet 40 duringha period of time which could be very short, It will be observed that,rin the interests of economy of space, the electromagnets pertaining to the plates are offset from oneanother from one platerto the other, as canibe'seen in Figrt3 inrespect of the two lower electromagnets.

In the presently-described application of the device, the latter is completed by an auxiliary actuating means for actuating the two strips c'ande 0f the index unit A.

This auxiliaryjrneans comprises a rotary staror swivelmember 41 keyedon the shaft 5,iin'each of the branchesof which is movable a rod 42having a rollert 43. The rollers 43 are adaptedto'roll along the bottom ends= of the strips 0 and e so as to urge thelatte'r upwardly. Each 1 Descriptionwill be made of a group of rods-14 in-the'.

course of their passage throughthe statiuns I, II'and III, bearing in mind that before a groupof rods acts, throughthe medium of its rod orrods in the extracted. position 1412, on one or more rods a so as to'shift them from position a to position a (Fig. 1), oneof'the'rods 42 of the rotary star 41 must raise'the strips 'cran'd e' during a sufiicient period of time. The latter is deter mined by the intersection of the circular path (Fig. 3) of the rod 42 biased by its springp44' with thehorizontal path n.-n described'by the ends' of the lowered strips 0 and e.

period of time, corresponding to the angle x,.and this period of time is sufficient forpermitting; the-rods 14 in their operative outer position 14b tourge the-conjugate rods 11 from the position a to the position a It can. be seen in Fig. 2 that the roller 15 of: the ex tracted rod 14b describes a circular path p.-p whose centre is situatedon the axis Y-Y and, providedtthis circular path intersects the paths qq and r--r described by a roda in its respective positions a -and a the rod 14 encounters the rod a and s and fully depresses It at t. The star 41 is so keyed on its shaft that the angley is. described by the group of rodsin question as soonas'the rod 42 of the star. has raised thestripscand e and'has consequently passed through the vertical.

The group of rods 14 then encounters the neutraliz mg station II where the cam 21 actuates the fork 25 which retracts the pawls 17 and thereby allows-the springs 16 to urge outwardly all the rods l4which were in the inner inoperative position at station I; all the rods of the group now therefore bear against the edges 28 of theplates 27. Owing to the action of these edges 28 allthe" rods are depressed in opposition to the action-of their springs 16 and, when the-rollers 15-leavethe ramps 28 at j (Fig; 2) all the rods are fullydepressed'but not locked in position, because the roller 23, whichis lag ging relative to the rods of its group, stillrollsalong the boss 21 of the cam 22. The single roller 32 of the group of rods rolls along theramp 30 of the lever 29 which, being connected'to the member 36, pivots with thelatter in the opposite 'directionto'thearroWfiKFig; 2). The

Thus, the shiftingbf the cam The outward movement-of each It can -be seen that the star 41 1's capable of acting on the strips-duringa relativelynlong.

The anglev is the working'or operative angler member 36 pivots the plates 33 and brings them to the position in which their ramps 37 assume the position 37a concentric with the axis YY. The plates are locked in this position by the core plungers 39 of the unexcited electromagnets 40, these plungers extending into the recesses 38.

This positioning of the plates 33, or the return to zero of the latter, terminates at the moment when the group of rods 14 in question reaches the station III. At this moment, one or more of the electromagnets 40 are excited, for example by a manual coding operation in the presently-described application. A very short excitation of one or more of the electromagnets 40 in accordance with the value of the code to be transmitted to the memory means constituted by the index unit A, is sufiicient to unlock the corresponding plate or plates, which, owing to the action of their springs 34, return to the retracted position, whereas the other plate or plates 33 maintain their ramps at position 37a.

In these conditions, any rod 14 whose conjugate ramp is at position 37a concentric with the axis YY is maintained in its depressed inner position. On the other hand, any rod whose conjugate ramp is retracted to position 37 is pushed out by its spring 16, since, as the turret rotates in the direction of arrow F, the point of contact of the roller 14 on the ramp 37 moves away from the axis YY.

Finally, before the rollers of the rods leave the ramps 37 or 37a, the single roller 23 of the group of rods under consideration leaves the boss 21 of the cam 22 and causes the fork 25 to release the pawls 17. The latter enter the apertures in the rods 14 which the ramps 37a temporarily maintain in their depressed position 14a, so that these rods are locked in their inner depressed position at least until the next passage throughthe station III. They are therefore inoperative at station I." On the other hand, the rods which, owing to the retraction of their corresponding ramps to the position 37, shift to their outer position at station III, remain in this position and are operative in their next passage through the station I.

Briefly, it can be seen that the extraction or outward movement of the rods 14 is effected by their respective springs 16, the ramps of station III allowing or not allowing this outward movement according as they are retracted at 37 or are in their operative position 37a. Thus, at station I there is operative only that rod or those rods in each group of rods which corresponds or correspond to the electromagnet or electromagnets 40 which is or are excited when the group of rods under consideration passes through the station III an instant before.

Thus it is clear that the device permits, in the course of a continuous motion of rotation of the actuating elements and a continuous motion of translation of the controlled elements, an actuation of the latter without shocks and alternating movements during a relatively long period of time which corresponds to the duration of rotation through the angle v (Fig. 2) of the turret notwithstanding the brevity (for example 0.3 sec.) of the control signal which is, in the presently-described embodiment, the excitation of one or more electromagnets 40.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described, many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Selective actuating device for selectively actuating a device for selective indexing and other operations, comprising in combination: a fixed support, a turret mounted on the support for rotation about an axis, means for driving the turret in rotation, a plurality of groups of actuating rods carried by the turret, the rods in each group being disposed in a radial plane intersecting said axis; each rod being movable in a radial direction between an outer operative position and an inner inoperative position; a spring on each rod which urges the latter toward said operative position; a retaining pawl for each rod and movable between a retracted position and an operative position for maintaining each rod in said inoperative position; a spring for each pawl to urge the latter towards operative position; stations arranged around the turret and disposed on the support in such manner as to be successively traversed by each group of rods, said stations comprising: an actuating station disposed in such manner that the rods in said operative position in each group passing through the actuating station fulfill at the latter the desired function, a neutralizing station which comprises-a cam adapted to retract all the pawls of the group of rods passing through the neutralizing station against the action of the springs associated therewith, and a series of fixed ramps for returning all the rods to said inoperative position in which latter position the rods are not retained by the pawls, and a selective rod-extraction station provided with means for selectively causing a certain number of rods in each group passing through the rod-extraction station to assume said operative posi tion, the cam for retracting the pawls being operatively disposed so that the pawls are released by the cam for returning to their operative locking positions by the action of their springs only after the means have startedto displace said rods towards their outer operative positions.

2. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said cam for retracting the pawls is combined with a pivotable fork which bears against all the pawls in opposition to the action of return springs for the latter.

3. Device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the extraction station comprises ramps in a number equal to the number of rods in each group of rods, said ramps being capable of each occupying selectively an operative position in which the ramp temporarily maintains the corresponding rod in said inoperative position until the pawl corresponding to the rod is released by the cam retracting the pawls, and an inoperative retracted position permitting the rod to be extracted before it is locked by its corresponding pawl, electromagnetic means combined with an elastically yieldable device which permits shifting each ramp from said operative position to said inoperative position, and an auxiliary element actuated by the passage of the rods through the neutralizing station and ensuring the automatic return of all the ramps to said operative position before the selective excitation of said electromagnetic means.

4. Device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the ramps are constituted by the edges of pivotable plates each of which is urged in the direction of their retracted inoperative position by the action of the elastically yieldable devices and locked in said operative position by the unexcited electromagnetic means, the excitation of each of the latter ensuring the unlocking of the plate and the passage of the ramp to said inoperative position owing to the action of the corresponding elastically yieldable device.

5. Device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said auxiliary return element, constituted by the edges of the pivotable plates in the operative position is constituted by a member against which abut the plates in said retracted inoperative position of the latter and said member is combined with a lever to which it is connectedand which constitutes a ramp, a roller carried by the turret in the region of each group of rods rolling along said ramp at the neutralizing station so as to return said ramps constituted by the edges of the pivotable plates to said operative position of the ramps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,807,376 Lens Sept. 24, 1957 

